Guest column: Community rallying to help The River's Edge owner Seth Silver in fight against cancer

Doneen Durling Reporter

Tuesday

Sep 3, 2019 at 9:00 AMSep 3, 2019 at 9:07 AM

WINCHENDON — Walking into The River’s Edge Restaurant at 302 Spring St. has always made me immediately relax. Usually I am meeting a friend or maybe two for breakfast, and if we are lucky, we get the window overlooking the busy route outside and watch the traffic rush by while the waitress keeps filling our coffee cups and we order breakfast.

I always order fruit, and it comes to me in one of those single-serving casserole dishes with fat blueberries and melon cut in bite-sized pieces with fresh strawberries and any other fresh fruit in season the chef can load into the dish. My serving is enough to share with all those at the table, so sometimes we pluck it piece by piece while trading information about our week.

The breakfasts or even lunches we order have generous portions we sometimes carry home or back to work with us, and the coffee still flows while we talk away the hours.

The best part is, if it is a particularly slow day, the chef comes out to ask us what we liked and shares a bit of his day. Seth Silver, owner and chef at The River’s Edge seems to connect with everyone. His girlfriend, Amber White, who helps to manage The River’s Edge, said he has an ability to talk to anyone.

The two share a busy life, between the restaurant and their children plus all the community connections, and Seth just chalked up being tired all the time to his hectic schedule.

Then came the diagnosis.

“It is very fast and very confusing,” Amber told me recently.

Amber explained that Seth became extremely tired around the end of May and the beginning of June.

“He will tell you that he wasn’t, but a lot of people could tell he was really drained. He works a lot, and he’s always outdoors and we have five kids, so he’s always tired.

Amber said that in July she reminded Seth that he had a physical coming up. He was turning 40, and they both thought it might be a good time to start paying attention to health. All of a sudden the glands right below the back of his ears began to swell.

“It was really odd and the doctor was telling him that he was probably having an allergic reaction to penicillin. Seth developed a rash and the doctor kept assuming it was caused by the penicillin.

“The whole time it was really the symptoms of lymphoma,” she said shaking her head. “We went to a few doctors that blamed it on the penicillin, and so I thought I would make him go to UMass in Worcester. They admitted him, and sure enough they confirmed he had stage 4 lymphoma.”

Seth was finally diagnosed with stage 4 T-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma when tests came back positive after a bone-marrow biopsy.

The treatment is as aggressive as the lymphoma.

Seth had gone through his first round of chemo for five days, 24 hours a day. He is on a break right now, and in a few weeks’ time he will begin again.

“We are not too sure how that is going to go, or for how long,” said Amber.

Seth will also receive chemo spinal injections as well twice a week. I told Amber that he must be drained after the first round.

“He is totally drained, but he is still 100 percent Seth. I call him and he says, ‘Hey, how are you doing? I just got a spinal tap,’” she said with a laugh.

Meanwhile, on the outside, Amber and the crew at The River’s Edge are trying to keep things together so the restaurant can support itself for at least the next six months. They will be open Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Mondays 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“We have three cooks right now,” she said. “We have an amazing staff, and two long-time friends and employees who worked for Seth at the Ugly Omelet said they will do whatever they can for as long as they can.”

The rest of the crew has stepped in to fill gaps to keep everything running and viable until the chef returns. Amber says that Seth is insisting he will come back to work soon.

When people in the community found out what was happening, they stepped up big-time. A GoFundMe page was started, and they have raised funds to help pay bills and make sure the kids have what they need for school.

“It’s emotional and very overwhelming,” says Amber. “I am very independent and so is Seth.”

Cub Scout Pack 193 has also voted to raise money, promising to match funds for funds donated. They will be collecting from now until Thursday, Sept. 5, at their welcome back night at 6:30 p.m. at American Legion Park, where they will have a special table set up to collect donations.

They are also going to be organizing a work party in the near future to help clean up the outside of the restaurant.

Seth has given much to the community, opening his doors to the after-school program for baking, donating to the school district, and even opening his doors at the restaurant on Thanksgiving so people will have a place to enjoy the holiday.

“He likes to help the community and be a part of it. He has donated so much, and it’s so nice to see it coming back,” said Amber.

Melanie LeBlanc has organized a benefit to help Seth and Amber. When I asked her why, she said the two have been great to her and her family.

“They are my best friends,” she said, tearing up with emotion.

It seems that what has happened to Seth has come on so quickly, no one has had time to sit and contemplate and become down. They immediately have sprung into action. Melanie began to expend her energies on pulling together an event to help bridge the gap and take a few financial worries off the couple’s mind while Seth heals.

“It’s not that much work,” she said. “They deserve it more than anyone.”

Word has spread like wildfire over social media about the benefit on Oct. 4, and already Melanie has been contacted by people who want to donate baskets and whatever is needed. She has been offered gift certificates donated by tattoo artists and massage therapists. She has blankets, book baskets, a pillow basket, a basket from the nail salon where Amber has her nails done, and more.

“People have been crazy amazing,” said Amber.

The benefit will be held at the Gardner Elks on Oct. 4. Along with the raffles that keep coming in, there will also be music by DJ Pete Barbosa.

I talked to Seth on the phone on Aug. 30, and he said he is doing well. The first chemo round left him a little worn, but doctors told him that his blood work is great.

I told him who I was. He could not quite place my name with a face and voice, but then I told him that I ordered a fruit bowl each time I came in, and he knew exactly who was on the other end of the conversation.

Amber said that when the diagnosis hit, they were very scared. They wondered how they were going to do it all, and they feared for their children. It all seemed to happen just as they had established a flow in the business and things were going great.

But Seth has maintained a positive attitude. He said he wants to stay positive for the kids and lead by example. He believes the kids are the ones who are getting the “hard end of the stick.”

Seth said that he is pleased with the way things are going with his treatment, and he is thankful.

“Everything that is in me that is supposed to be well is well,” he said. “I’m thankful about how strong Amber is. We have a great staff at the restaurant that have stepped up. I’m ready to go back to work,” he said.

Seth understands that his immune system is compromised, and there is no way he can do what needs being done at work.

Amber said she wants to bubble-wrap him to keep him for harm, but Seth already has a plan that includes basically a spacesuit.

“Then I can shake people’s hands. I can say hello to people. We can have fun. We’ll make this a celebration of life,” he said. “One of the kids said, ‘We’re going to kick lymphoma in the nodes.’ That’s what we are going to do,” Seth declared.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at the door or at The River’s Edge from Saturday through Mondays before Oct. 4.

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